Wheel-guard.



F. L. SULLIVAN.

WHEEL GUARD.

urmomxon rxmgn r1112. 24, 1911.

1,001,902, Patented Aug; 29, 1911.

FLURRENCE L. SULLIVAN, F GORDON, PENNSYLVANIA.

WHEEL-GUARD.

Application filed February 24, 1911.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 29, 1911.

Serial No. 610,490.

i To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, FLURRENGE L. SULLI- VAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Gordon, in the county of Schuylkill and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Wheel-Guard, of which the following is a specification,

This invention relates to railway rolling stock, and more especially to wheel fenders;

and the object of the same is to produce an improved wheel guard carried by the truck and traveling directly in front of the forward wheel.

Another object is to render said wheel guard vertically adjustable by means of a bolt and nut lock peculiarly adapted to this structure.

These objects I accomplish by the construction hereinafter described and claimed, and as shown in the drawings wherein- Figure 1 is a side elevation of a car truck with my improved wheel guard attached. Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the guard. Fig. 3 is an enlarged vertical sectional view thereof, and Fig. 4 is a perspective detail of the cap forming part of the nut lock.

In the drawings the letter T designates the ordinary truck as used on street cars at the present time, or any improved construction of truck, as the same forms no part of the present invention. My improved wheel guard, best seen complete in Fig. 2, is attached to said truck by one oblique arm or strap 4 and two horizontal arms or rods 5, all herein shown as having elbows or offsets 3 in their bodies and eyes 6 at their rear ends by which they are connected in any suitable manner with the truck. The forward ends of said rods are herein shown as provided with large loops or eyes 7 within which is bolted or screwed, as at 7 an upright tubular body or socket 8 having its bore 9 enlarged at the lower end and shouldered as at 10. The forward end of said strap 4 is provided with a plate or annulus 2 which is secured by nails or screws 1 to the bottom of the socket 8 around the bore therein. Within said enlarged bore 9 reciprocates a plunger 11, preferably having a rounded lower end or shoe-equivalent 12, and from the uper end of the plunger extends a stem. 13 eading loosely through the reduced portion of the bore and out of the upper end of the socket 8 Where it is threaded and receives a nut 14. Secured to and rising above the socket is a yoke 15, herein shown as of strap iron, provided in its fiat upper end with an eye 16 through which the upper end of the stem 13 plays freely; and coiled loosely around said stem between the upper end of the yoke and the nut 14 is an expansive spiral spring 17 as shown. It is clear that by adjusting the nut 14 on the stem 13 the plunger can be set lower than as shown in Fig. 3. In order to positively hold said nut when adjusted on the stem, I provide the latter in one side with a longitudinal groove 130 and I employ a cap 20 whose cavity 21 is of a size to fit loosely but rather closely around the walls of the nut and whose upper end has an aperture 22 adapted to fit closely around the stem, and into this aperture or bolt-opening projects a lip 23- as shown in,

Fig. 4. After the nut has been adjusted on the stem, the cap (which has been raised to put the spring 17 under tension) is allowed to descend over the nut so as to hold the latter from becoming loose, the lip 23 meanwhile sliding downward within the groove 130. This form of nut look I consider peculiarly adapted toa structure of the character described above, because the entire cap can stand within the yoke 15 and when it is desired to set the nut upon the bolt the cap is raised to remove the pressure of the spring upon the nut, after which the latter can be adjusted in either direction.

In use, this wheel guard is attached about as shown inyFig. 1 and the offsets 3 in the supporting arms 4 and 5 cause it to travel just forward of the foremost wheel on the forward truck of the car, with the exposed lower end of the plunger riding over the rail and sustained at all times above the same by thecontact of the nut 14 with the upper end of the socket 8'. Thus I avoid the possibility that said lower end may ride into switches or frogs, to the injury of the device. When an accident occurs and a person falls upon the track in front of the truck with his or her limb across the rail, this guard throws the person to one side and prevents amputation or injury." The device is preferably constructed of metal, proportioned to suit the use to which it is to be put. It is desirable that there be a similar guard attached just forward of the foremost wheel on the opposite truck.

What is claimed is: I j

The herein described wheel .guard for street and other cars, comprisingan upright tubular socket having its bore enlarged at its lower end and shouldered above the enlargement, arms secured to said socket and having oif-sets holding it spaced forward of the foremost truck, a plunger comprisin a stem and body portion having a roun ed lower end, and slidable in the enlarged bore of the said socket, the aforesaid stem extending from said body portion loosely through the reduced bore of the socket and grooved longitudinally, a nut 0n the stem resting upon the upper end of the socket, a cap closely inclosing the nut and having in its opening a lip engaging said groove, a yoke rising from the socket and having an eye through Which the stem moves freely, and an expansive spring coiled on the stem between the upper end of the yoke and the top of the cap. I

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto aflixed my signature in the presence of two Witnesses.

FLU-RRENOE L. SULLIVAN.

Witnesses FRANK KAUFMAN, ALBERT BOLICH.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

